August 7-10, 2017 - St. Louis, MO, USA, Booth #1018

Lunch & Learn Abstracts

Metals are ever more critical to the modern world, with demand increasing amid growing scarcity. Metallography has long proved its value, enabling imaging across multiple length scales. From large grains to tiny, fault-producing inclusions, the microstructure and chemistry of metals impact applications from infrastructure through automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods. Modern microscopy continues to evolve, just as metallurgical requirements keep challenging metallographers and analytical scientists with an increasing focus on data extraction from a variety of sources across a complex range of metallurgical samples. Multi-scale microscopy—spanning optical, x-ray, and electron technologies—has redefined microscopy beyond “great imaging,” coming of age as a single solution to access an array of analytical information.

Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Raman spectral imaging deliver complementary sample information which helps scientists to gain complete and deep knowledges of their samples. The recent achievement in correlative microscopy is the full integration of WITec 3D confocal Raman microscope into ZEISS FESEMs. Out of it the new SIGMA 300 RISE enables the best-in-class SEM imaging of composite materials and directly links their chemical/molecular information in addition by means of confocal Raman Imaging (CRI) capabilities. The fast and precise sample transfer within the chamber and under vacuum per mouse click simplifies the correlative workflow and delivers crucial sample information from regions of interest (ROI) with pinpoint precision. In summary, the combination of superior SEM imaging and analysis approaches and CRI capabilities allows to identify molecules or non-metallic compounds at high resolution, even if these show the same stoichiometry. Examples from various fields of applications will be presented.

A selection of recent developments will be presented from the applications team of ZEISS Microscopy and from Fibics Incorporated and their colleagues, focusing on applications of the ZEISS Crossbeam and Orion NanoFab microscopes. Topics presented will include milling with large gallium beam currents, three dimensional tomography including FIB/SEM tomography ranging from the quarter millimeter length scale to the nanometer‎ voxel, three dimensional analytics, single high resolution imaging with precision beam placement enabled by the ZEISS Gemini column and associated technologies, large area imaging in SEM and STEM, high speed patterning showcasing one million complex patterns executed in about an hour and custom sectioning and imaging at high throughput.

Examples will be presented of the correlative workspace; this special graphical user interface of ZEISS Atlas 5 brings together multi-modal, multi-microscope analysis of the same specimen, including light, electron, ion and analytical microscopy techniques. A review of selected correlative X-ray microscopy to FIB/SEM microscopy examples adds to the portrait of ZEISS Crossbeam and ZEISS Atlas 5.

Bioinspiration is the understanding of systems in nature and how we can modify and replicate these for human design and engineering. Multi-modal and multi-scale microscopy across light, electron, and X-ray microscopy can uncover new insights into incredibly diverse hierarchical biomaterials. X-ray microscopy (µCT/XRM) reveals previously undiscovered internal microarchitectures, as well as generating 3D representations of complex surface structures. Light and electron microscopy provide microstructural, chemical, and crystallographic characterisation. Fusing these techniques together in correlative workflows can extend the fundamental basis of materials science – structure/property relationships - to structure/property/function studies of organisms. We’ve investigated a number of species including cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides). Imaging has revealed complex internal architectures only visible using non-destructive methods. Understanding the organism’s behavior is essential to consider the functions of these complex forms, requiring first-hand observation or collaboration across disciplines with species specialists; broadening the research horizons for materials science and microscopy.

The functionality of materials is largely determined by the mechanisms that take place at sub-micron length scales and at interfaces. In order to understand these complex material systems and further improve them, it is necessary to measure and map variations in properties and functionality at the relevant physical, chemical, and temporal length scales. The goal of multimodal imaging is to transcend the existing analytical capabilities for nanometer scale spatially resolved material characterization at interfaces through a unique merger of advanced microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy, this merger is rooted in innovative data processing algorithms and techniques. In particular I will talk about instrumentation developments for multimodal chemical imaging on a combined Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) – Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) and how to visualize material transformations at interfaces, to correlate these changes with chemical composition, and to distil key performance-centric material parameters using a multimodal chemical imaging.